Extreme risk

Some of the world’s fastest-growing economies — including India and Bangladesh — are also the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, according to a new report. The nations at the most extreme risk are those already dealing with high poverty levels, dense populations, exposure to climate-related events, and a reliance on flood- or drought-prone agricultural lands, according the Climate Change Vulnerability Index compiled by a UK-based consulting group.

While India is already one the world’s largest economies, its vulnerability to climate-related events could scare off foreign investment in the coming decades, the report says. Among the 25 nations characterized as most at risk, 12 are located in Africa. Among the nations considered “low risk” are Norway, Finland, and Iceland.

Perhaps, some semblance of seriousness has come into the scene going by the fact that Indian government has pledged to publish an account of the nation’s natural wealth.

A valuation of such resources as forests, wildlife, and freshwater supplies that international officials call critical to avoiding the financial costs of biodiversity loss, it coincides with the release of a UN-backed Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity report that warns that failure to account for the value of nature to humankind — from clean air to healthy fish stocks — will contribute to increases in species extinction and the consequent financial costs.

Natural capital is a massive asset class, and developing nations’ biggest asset, as pointed by Pavan Sukhdev, an economist and lead author of the study. Time we finally set that right. It is hoped that other nations will follow suit.